Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Showbiz Today Reports: Daytime's First Gay Recurring Character

Aired April 26, 2001 - 10:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You mentioned the soap opera "All My Children," and someone's bound to talk about Erica.

LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: You don't have to watch it and you know who Erica is. Today we learn more about the actress behind that very famous character.

CNN's Michael Okwu has our "Showbiz Today Reports" from New York.

Hello there, Michael.

HARRIS: Good morning.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Linda, good morning Leon, good morning everyone.

Erica Kane has had her share of tragedy, triumph and terror in her 27 years on "All My Children." But the popular daytime program has recently given the actress who plays her, Susan Lucci, and her TV daughter, Eden Riegel, an entirely new plot to work with. It might surprise you to know that, though this storyline is more commonplace among prime-time shows, this is the first time that it's a major part of a daytime one.

CNN's Jodi Ross has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the frustration...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ALL MY CHILDREN")

EDEN RIEGEL, ACTRESS: What is it that she doesn't want me to see?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS: ... to the fear...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ALL MY CHILDREN")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Bianca, what are you really afraid of?

RIEGEL: That our lives are never going to be the same again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS: ... "All My Children" has brought a lead character out of the closet, and she's the teenage daughter of daytime's biggest diva.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ALL MY CHILDREN")

RIEGEL: Do you love me now?

SUSAN LUCCI, ACTRESS: Yes.

RIEGEL: I'm gay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT SEOMIN, MEDIA DIRECTOR, GLAAD: Erica Kane is the most famous woman on daytime drama. Her daughter Bianca has come out as a lesbian. This is a major A-plot story line.

ROSS: Eden Riegel plays Bianca.

RIEGEL: I'm not gay, and I -- you know, I try my best to make this story true and to make it honest. But there's only so much that I can do. So, I mean, it's definitely daunting.

LUCCI: There are kids who commit suicide rather than tell their parents. And the opportunity to be part of a story line like this one, that was done with so much dignity and humanity, that would maybe help some kids understand that their parents would love them and that nobody should have to commit suicide because they're afraid that they can't be who they are.

ROSS (on camera): Abortion and adultery; kidnapping and scheming: Soaps seem to shy away from nothing, and yet "All My Children" is the first and only daytime show to feature an openly gay recurring character.

So that begs the question: What took so long?

SEOMIN: The networks have been very cautious in bringing gay and lesbian characters to daytime drama out of a simple fear; that fear is out of alienating the straight female fan base that looks at these characters in these daytime dramas as pure fantasy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ALL MY CHILDREN")

RIEGEL: I was scared to death that you would be ashamed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS (voice-over): Well, this fantasy is for a different audience. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation just awarded the soap outstanding daytime drama.

RIEGEL: To be acknowledged by the gay community -- it's a huge accomplishment because what it means is that we told a story that they thought was true.

SEOMIN: This is television history in the making; this is amazing.

ROSS: So amazing that both women were nominated for daytime Emmys.

(on camera): She looks shy and humbles (sic) away, but you did get an Emmy nomination.

RIEGEL: I's so excited.

ROSS: That's got to -- is that sort of the cherry on top of the cake?

RIEGEL: It's, like, beyond my wildest dreams; and I'm just enjoying every single moment.

ROSS (voice-over): Looks like the moment for Erica Kane's lesbian daughter will last a long time.

Jodi Ross, CNN entertainment news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com